Your Fear of Fit

A potential client recently shared his fear of getting a bike fit.  His impasse was not based on my cost, my experience or the service I provide, but from the fear of economic impact of the fit session itself i.e., he thought he was going to have to buy all new parts, maybe even a new bike.  He having previously been impacted in this arena, with the outcome being hundreds of dollars of new product, deemed it unwise to proceed.  In these uncertain economic times his objection to bike fit is shared by many due in part to the ever popular retail fit craze.  Many see bike fit as a gateway to product sales.  In most cases this is true.

In circumstances in which you seek a professional service, medical for example, it is customary to expect a prescription at the end of your visit.  The prescriptions’ additional cost could be viewed as the “cure” to the main reason for the appointment itself.  In this guise the physician would (hopefully) have credentials and certifications to write the script. But what if they didn’t?  Would you still have it filled?

Bike fitting has been around as long as the bicycle itself really gaining prominence in the last 5 years and can closely be paralleled to a “gold rush” or “wild west” as certifications are subjective and easy to obtain from the shop’s leading manufacturer. Riding the curtails of increased fit awareness, anyone can call themselves a fit expert and many do. Not driven by the bike industry itself but by manufacturers looking to differentiate and validate their brands it is an interdependent win for manufacturers and retailers alike.  The retailer benefitting from the marketing push of the manufacturer also benefits from the added incremental sales of product and labor the bike fit provides. Thus most fit professionals have approximately 3-7 days of industry training and rely on product commission as a large portion of their salaries.    

Whereas bike fit itself is the marriage of bike and body, genuine fit professionals possess years of experience and training and were fitting before a studio housed anything but expensive art.  Now, the part-time sales associate turned kinesiology expert can charge hundreds of dollars after a week-long manufacturer-certified class with a recipe for add on sales, believed to address the issues of customer ailments.  Couple this certification with the manufacturer’s fit technology and you’re off and running. To test this theory I often ask clients to imagine a scenario of needing their bike repaired. One choice is a mechanic in their early twenties proudly studying a torque graph on his laptop. The other a slightly gruff middle aged man possessing a well worn set of Craftsman wrenches. Who would you choose? Most often comment they would choose the mechanic with the laptop under the assumption the technology would provide a failsafe. Would you rather have twenty years of experience, or one year of experience repeated twenty times?  

While I am a proponent of fit first and think everyone who rides a bike, regardless of their level, should have a proper bike fit, I am not an advocate of high volume retail stores that market under a guise of “wellness”.  Yes I have worked for a few, but where there’s smoke there’s fire and fit is not the main sustaining component of those businesses… its product sales in every capacity.  This year I jumped into the abyss of self-employment (giving up perfectly sound health insurance and handsome commissions) and sought out to offer what I truly believe in.  Bike fit, genuine service and tenured cycling professionals.  

 It is not my intention to deter custom bike fit but quite the contrary. Just as 50% of all doctors and lawyers graduated in the bottom half of their class, fitting is similar and I routinely see new clients to correct previous fits which did not solve their root cause. There is plenty of free advice in your local peloton and on the Internet, but as in most things free, it carries little value, is myopic and not subjective to your individual needs, flexibility and structural make-up.  My advice in selecting a fit professional is to approach it as you would any other professional service: ask lots of questions, research, and contact references.  The highest price or the latest technology is not necessarily the best product or reflective of experience. The desire to develop a relationship and the willingness to work with what you’ve got should be paramount.  There is no substitution for experience.  Enjoy the ride.